Nutrition Facts of Waffles & Ways to Make Waffles Healthier

Waffles may not be a healthy choice for a meal most of the time. But there are ways to make them healthier to eat. In this post I’ll show you the consists of waffles and help you to make it healthier.

Are Waffles a Healthy Choice?

A traditional waffle is made of refined grains and is low in fiber. Both frozen waffles and homemade waffles have high levels of total fat and saturated fat.

Furthermore, waffles contain a lot of sodium. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that waffles do contain some essential vitamins and minerals, including vitamin A and B vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin, and folate), as well as important minerals like iron, calcium, and phosphorus.

In a nutshell, waffles aren’t the healthiest food, especially if you’re on a low-carb/keto diet, but there are ways to up their nutritional value. One way to do this is to consume whole wheat waffles or waffles made of other whole grains.

Consuming waffles in moderation is also important to avoid completely ruining your diet plan.

Waffle Nutrition Facts

Here’s the nutrition you get from a plain, frozen, ready-to-heat waffle (approximately 4-inch square or round):

• Calories: Waffles are calorie-dense, with almost 103 calories per serving. Adding whipped cream, pure maple syrup, high fructose corn syrup, or sugar to your waffle can take the calorie count even higher.
• Fat: There are more than 3 grams of fat and 0.5 grams of saturated fat in each frozen waffle. Homemade waffles can be even worse with around 5 grams of fat and 1 gram of saturated fat per waffle if you’re not careful. Weight gain may result from the high fat content of frozen waffles.
• Cholesterol: Each waffle has around 25 mg of cholesterol. High cholesterol is linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
• Sodium: In each waffle, there are about 383 mg of sodium. High blood pressure can result from eating a diet high in sodium (salt).
• Carbohydrates: Around 16 grams of refined carbohydrates, mostly from refined flour, are present in each waffle. Consuming white bread, pancakes, and waffles made from highly processed refined flour can cause blood sugar spikes and raise your risk of heart disease.
• Protein: There is just under 2.4 grams of protein in each frozen waffle, so you need to add other nutritious foods as accompaniments to get enough proteins from a waffle meal.

How to Make a Healthy Breakfast With Waffles?

Waffles can be much healthier to consume with a few easy adjustments.

1. Use unprocessed flours

Using unprocessed whole grain flour to make your waffle batter, like buckwheat flour, whole wheat flour, or almond flour, is one of the simplest ways to make your waffles healthier. When you purchase frozen waffles, white flour is what’s used, but these are all healthier options. Whole grain waffles are rich in fiber and have plant-based proteins.

2. Go easy on the sweeteners

Waffles can be especially unhealthy because, in addition to the waffles themselves, you often eat unhealthy side dishes with them. Pick healthier toppings for your waffles to make them more wholesome. Do not add extra sugar, maple syrup, or chocolate chips to your waffles to make them sweeter.

3. Pick fresh fruits as toppings

Fresh fruit toppings for waffles, like blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries, are full of vitamins and antioxidants. Other healthy choices for waffle accompaniments include Greek yogurt, honey, and nut butter.

4. Work with high-benefit, healthier oils

To make healthy waffles, pay attention to the oil you’re using. Coconut oil, which functions similarly to vegetable oil but is healthier, is ASPC’s top recommendation. Coconut oil gives me the perfect waffle every time with a crispy outer shell and soft interior. In fact, I often replace cooking spray with coconut oil. I just lightly brush my waffle iron with it and warm the waffle maker to liquefy it.

5. Avoid frozen waffles

Store-bought frozen waffles are typically made of white flour and loaded with preservatives. Making your own whole wheat waffles at home can greatly increase the nutritional value of your meal. If the texture of homemade waffles doesn’t appeal to you, try adding a little buckwheat to healthy waffle recipes. I find it takes the edge off whole wheat flour and my waffles turn out real fluffy.

Conclusion

Waffles are delicious but they should never be your daily diet, if you want to have healthier waffles, you can put some fruit topping on them or have whole wheat waffles. It is also important to buy fresh waffles instead of frozon waffles in supermarkets.

Related reading: How to Make Great Waffles with Waffle Maker

Best Ways to Make Waffles with Pancake Mix

Ways to Deep Clean Your Waffle Maker

FAQs